WayneW
Senior Member
situation: a ceiling fan with light kit, controlled by one wall switch. I am assuming there is only a switched hot lead (plus neutral and ground) going up to the fan junction box.
question: what is the easiest way to automate control of the fan (on/off only would be fine) and the light SEPARATELY?
I know that Home Depot and/or Lowes sell some remote control gadgets that can be used to retrofit and gain separate control of the fan and light. Some are wall mounted and some have a wireless remote, but I believe that they all use RF to communicate with the receiver in the fan canopy. Has anybody seen otherwise? I know there are some high end fans (like Casablanca) that have a control system built into the fan to do fancy things with only a standard 2 wires. Do any of these units lend themselves to automation? The obvious thing that I see is to hack apart the wireless remote and connect relays to the switches to simulate human presses.
Along the same lines of limited wiring, I have a standard exterior motion detector and floodlight kit mounted under the roof eaves. I would like to use the motion sensor to signal something/somehow AND I want to be able to control the light manually. I used a couple X10 PR511s in my old house, but I suspected they were the source of some strange X10 signals and noise, so I left them. Are there any alternative or easy hacks without running new wires? What can I cram in the junction box to transmit with motion and control the light?
question: what is the easiest way to automate control of the fan (on/off only would be fine) and the light SEPARATELY?
I know that Home Depot and/or Lowes sell some remote control gadgets that can be used to retrofit and gain separate control of the fan and light. Some are wall mounted and some have a wireless remote, but I believe that they all use RF to communicate with the receiver in the fan canopy. Has anybody seen otherwise? I know there are some high end fans (like Casablanca) that have a control system built into the fan to do fancy things with only a standard 2 wires. Do any of these units lend themselves to automation? The obvious thing that I see is to hack apart the wireless remote and connect relays to the switches to simulate human presses.
Along the same lines of limited wiring, I have a standard exterior motion detector and floodlight kit mounted under the roof eaves. I would like to use the motion sensor to signal something/somehow AND I want to be able to control the light manually. I used a couple X10 PR511s in my old house, but I suspected they were the source of some strange X10 signals and noise, so I left them. Are there any alternative or easy hacks without running new wires? What can I cram in the junction box to transmit with motion and control the light?